CLEANING UP CLAREMONT AVENUE

Not many people know that Garber Park has a long border on Claremont Ave.  We Stewards have not spent much time maintaining the section along Claremont – until now, that is.   Last Friday morning we donned our yellow vests and went to work picking up trash along both sides of Claremont Ave. from just behind the Hotel to Alvarado Rd.  In three hours we collected 6 bags of trash, several tires, and some construction debris that had been tossed into the bushes.

                                                               
This clean-up event was an experiment to see if we could safely conduct stewardship sessions on Claremont Ave. With caution and wearing yellow vests we found we could. We now will be offering occasional stewardship days along this beautiful street - Garber Park, with it's steep hillside covered with big leaf maples, buckeyes, and an understory of ferns is at the base of Claremont Canyon and extends almost to Rispin Lane. Unfortunately, ivy still drips from the trees along this section of Claremont Ave., but with the soon to begin Wildfire Prevention Assessment District (WPAD) special project the ivy in the trees will become history.

If you would like to help us monitor conditions along this important thoroughfare please contact us garberparkstewards.blogspot.com.  In the meantime, enjoy this trash-free section of Claremont Avenue.  

New Stairs for the New Year

We devoted today's workday to cleaning up the Evergreen Lane Entrance.  Our new plants, with the assistance of "rain" from some sprinklers, are flourishing.  But, the big news is that NEW STAIRS now make walking to Fireplace Plaza a lot safer.   Bob and Ed replaced 8 crumbling steps.  The rest of us weeded, pulled erhardta grass, and cleared the trail.  Please join us at our next workday on Saturday, January 21, where we will continue weeding the Evergreen Ln. entrance,  and begin a seek and destroy campaign against Cape ivy and French broom sprouts.  In the meantime, come and enjoy the new stairs and native planting at the Evergreen Lane entrance.  

DOGS AND MUSHROOMS DON'T MIX

It is with much sadness that I write this post.  Recently, a most wonderful, happy, playful young dog died from eating poisonous mushrooms in Garber Park.  I put up signs at the entrances to Garber warning people to be careful when walking their dogs during mushroom season – it is wise to keep your dog leashed during the mushroom season. 

Just how common is it for dogs to eat mushrooms?  Responses from people and a google search suggested it is not uncommon.  A few years ago a neighbor’s puppy died from eating mushrooms in her yard.  A local veterinarian suggested that it was common enough that he felt all wildland parks should post signs warning of the danger.  Printed below (originally published in the Monterey Herald, by Karen Ravn) is one of the best articles I found warning that:

                                 DOGS AND MUSHROOMS DON’T MIX.

She was a big, beautiful, healthy German shepherd. But last weekend, without warning, she got terribly sick. He was a small, adorable, healthy Chihuahua. But nearly two weeks ago, without warning, he got terribly sick, too.

In both cases, it was something they ate: mushrooms.

That was the conclusion of the veterinarians who saw the dogs, and it's not a rare diagnosis. "We see one every three months or so," said Jeff Hogans, a veterinarian at the Harden Ranch Veterinary.

But many dogs that get sick from eating mushrooms are probably never seen by veterinarians, said Pat Davis, the veterinarian who handled the Chihuahua's case at the Harden Ranch hospital and was on duty Wednesday at the Monterey Peninsula-Salinas Veterinary Emergency Clinic. "They can end up dying, and the owners never realize what happened."

Neither the Chihuahua's owners nor the shepherd's realized what had happened at first. Neither of them saw their dogs eat mushrooms. But the Chihuahua's owners did see him throw up pieces of mushroom. The Chihuahua's owners were able to get to the hospital in time, and the dog seems to have made a complete recovery.

The shepherd's owners took her to the veterinarian, but they were too late. She died in the car on the way. The owners had an autopsy done to find out what was wrong, and that's how they found out about the mushrooms.

It's never a good idea for dogs to eat raw wild mushrooms any more than it is for people. Some dogs, especially young ones, will eat just about anything.

Dog owners are advised to dig up every mushroom that pops up in their yards -- without mushing them, because that only spreads the spores that will grow more mushrooms.

"Some of the Amanita species especially can be a problem for them," said Lisa Hoefler, director of operations at the Monterey County SPCA. Amanita phalloides, known as the death cap, is the most poisonous mushroom for people.

Cats are at the same risk from mushrooms as dogs, Davis said. Except for one thing: Cats tend to be a lot more finicky about their food.

MISSING IN ACTION: RAIN

NOTWITHSTANDING:  SECOND NATIVE PLANTING COMPLETE SUCCESS!!!

Below trail planting between last year's flourishing beds.

Except for the absence of drenching rains that facilitated last February’s initial planting session on Garber’s entrance hillside, this December’s encore efforts went forward without a hitch.  Once again, under the guidance and instruction of Botanist, Lech Naumovich, of Golden Hour Restoration Institute, the Garber Park Stewards with a cohort of volunteers from the neighborhood and beyond, planted more than 200 native grasses and shrubs provided by the local native nurseries.  This year the plantings were free-form efforts to fill in the gaps between the four original beds—two above the trail and two below—so that both erosion and invasion might be limited and controlled. 

Bromus waiting to be planted.

Among the many ideas that went into the first planting, prominent were these:  that restoration of native plants that are actually growing in Garber Park is appropriate for a steep hillside previously buried under dumped trash for perhaps 30 years; that a range of local natives would be planted in small communities in defined beds where the seedbed of invasives had been scraped away to encourage native growth; and that the relative success of the natives within the beds would be a clear indication of which native species preferred the microclimate of the hillside and therefore which native species had the best chance of populating the hillside without further attention.

Lech demonstrating planting techniques

While nothing that we planted in February had failed (a remarkable outcome in itself), some plants were more successful than others.  Toward the end of summer, one could see that the grasses had taken hold and even reseeded. In addition, native ferns that preferred rocky soil had succeeded as well as native strawberries and gooseberries.  For this second planting, the effort focused on placing the more successful natives in the spaces between the marked beds in the hope that native restoration would gain sufficient momentum to prevail on its own against inevitable exotic invasion.

Upper bed planting

The Stewards are pleased to note as well that on a day when many other well-advertised native restoration sessions were being conducted in the East Bay, seventeen volunteers attended the Garber Park event and enabled us to plant more than 200 natives before noon!!  

John Hadsell remembers Boy Scout
picnics at the stone fireplace.

We were also honored by the impromptu visit of long-time Evergreen Lane resident, John Hadsell, now 90+, whose lifelong experience in Garber Park includes Boy Scout picnics at the stone fireplace nearly 80 years ago.  He stood at the metal barrier and enjoyed what he saw.  His visit reminded us that native restoration accomplishes more than preservation of biodiversity—it reaches across time binding the past to the present, it insures the integrity of experience in a shared ecosystem.

Visit www.goldenhour.org for Lech's pictures and perspective on this most successful day.  It is here you will find a copy of the Hand-Out given to all participants that includes important information on: What we learned from the first restoration project last year as well as TIPS FOR PLANTING NATIVES IN WILDLAND AREAS

2ND ANNUAL NATIVE PLANTING EVENT

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17 
9AM-Noon.  Lunch will follow at Noon.

Meet at 9AM at the Evergreen Lane Entrance for coffee, tea, and snacks, and then join us in getting over 200 native seedlings in the ground.   Lunch will follow at Noon.   Everyone Welcome.

DIRECTIONS: The closest address is 144 Evergreen Lane.  From Alvarado Rd, take Slater lane to Evergreen Lane, turn Right onto Evergreen Lane.  For further information call 510-540-5261, email garberparkstewards@gmail.com, or visit www.garberparkstewards.blogspot.com.

Wear long sleeves and pants, layers for changing temperatures, and boots or shoes with treads.

In celebration of the 2nd anniversary of the Garber Park Stewards, Lech Naumovich, Golden Hour Restoration Institute, will once again lead us in planting natives on the Hiillside at the Evergreen Lane Entrance.  Now is the time to get the seedlings in the ground to maximize their chances of survival.  Lech will guide us through the results of last year's event and talk about selection of appropriate native plants for micro sites found on the hillside.  The planting day event will include an informational handout that provides some restoration planting guidance. 

At the Evergreen Entrance, there are five restoration beds now nearly one year old.  Extensive maintenance, native identification, documentary photography, and native seed collection have assisted in the planned expansion of this very successful project  - which will take place December 17.

We need your help to ensure another successful Restoration Planting Day.  As always, there will be many different kinds of activities that volunteers can do on planting day - not everyone needs to climb the hill or dig in the dirt.

FOR THIS EVENT THE GARBER PARK STEWARDS ARE PARTNERING WITH GOLDENHOUR.ORG, CLAREMONT CANYON CONSERVANCY, AND THE CITY OF OAKLAND.  MANY OF THE NATIVE PLANTS HAVE BEEN DONATED BY THE FRIENDS OF SAUSAL CREEK NURSERY.    

  

WPAD FUEL REDUCTION PROJECT TAKES ANOTHER STEP FORWARD

THE SPECIAL GUEST - Thanks, Lech, for bringing Kaya.

Thanks to all who came to our workday on Dec. 6 to discuss the details of the Garber Park Vegetation Management Project with LeRoy Griffin, Assistant Fire Marshal. We were pleased to have Camille Rogers, Fire Inspector for WPAD, Rebecca Tuden, City of Oakland Watershed Specialist, and Lech Naumovich, Botanist, Golden Hour  Restoration Institute to guide us through the proposal that was initially developed by Lech in collaboration with the Garber Park stewards, and later refined by several community meetings and “in-the-field” walks through Garber.   The plan that was submitted to WPAD on July 25, 2011, can be found on our blog at: http://garberparkstewards.blogspot.com/2011/11/wpad-vegetation-management-project-for.html.

Based on what has become known as The Beaconsfield Model The Garber Plan is a multi-year, year-round program that includes a botanist to assist with appropriate and proper removal of invasive species, thus ensuring environmentally sensitive techniques are used while managing vegetation to reduce the risk of a major fire.  Click here to read about Beaconsfield Canyon and the WPAD project. 

Next Steps: Camille Rogers will be meeting with the botanist. Together they will be developing a month-by-month calendar of the work to be performed in the park. The calendar of work days will be posted on our blog when it becomes available.  Timing of the removal of flammable invasive plants is critical in ensuring the most effective fuel reduction.  

LeRoy Griffin, Assistant Fire Marshal

A Short History of The Garber Park Stewards Journey:  

Two years ago in December the Garber Park Stewards started out with a vision that Garber Park was 13 acres worth protecting – and that our major goal was reducing the risk of wildfire while protecting the natural woodland resources of Garber Park. Early in our work in the park we consulted the City of Oakland Wildfire Prevention Assessment District (WPAD) on the need for a comprehensive fuel reduction and management plan.   In addition,  we heard about The Beaconsfield Model – a project funded by WPAD in Beaconsfield Canyon that included a botanist to oversee and assist with appropriate and proper removal of invasive species, and protection of the native plants that help reduce wildfire risk. This successful model seemed to address the needs of Garber Park.  Fortunately for us WPAD was ready to expand and fund Long Range Fuel Reduction Projects to other Open Space Parks in Oakland.  And in retrospect the stewards are grateful for the forward looking attitudes of both OFD and WPAD that impelled them to seriously implement ecologically sound fire risk abatement strategies.

Camille Rogers, WPAD
Fire Inspector

In February, 2011,  LeRoy Griffin notified the Stewards that funding had been secured for a fuel reduction project in Garber Park based on the Beaconsfield Model.  The Stewards sought the advice of  Lech Naumovich, botanist, Golden Hour Restoration Institute to work with us to develop the initial plan, which was presented, discussed, and refined at several community meetings.  The final, agreed upon plan was submitted to LeRoy in August, 2011.  Last month LeRoy notified us that funding had been approved and he requested the meeting which was held this week.  The Stewards wish to thank everyone who assisted in the progress of this project.  It will begin soon and initiate a thoughtful regime of wildfire safety for Garber Park and for the many neighbors who live at its edges. 

GARBER PARK VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECT FUNDED

The City of Oakland Wildfire Prevention Assessment District has approved funding for the Garber Park Fuel Reduction and Vegetation Management Project,  and implementation will begin soon.   LeRoy Griffin, City of Oakland Assistant Fire Marshall, will be the special guest at our next Workday, Tuesday, December 6, @ 10AM.  Following a discussion of the management plan we will walk with LeRoy around the Loop Trail and Claremont Avenue for a more detailed “in-the-field” look at this comprehensive fuel management plan.  This multi-year, year round project includes a botanist who will oversee and assist with appropriate and proper removal of invasive species, thus ensuring that environmentally sensitive techniques are used while managing vegetation to reduce the risk of a major fire. 
MEET at the Evergreen Lane Entrance to Garber Park @ 10AM. 

DIRECTIONS: The closest address is 144 Evergreen Lane. From Alvarado Rd, take Slater lane to Evergreen Lane, turn Right onto Evergreen Lane. 

For further information email garberparkstewards@gmail.com, or visit   www.garberparkstewards.blogspot.com 

  Read the Garber Park Vegetation Management Plan that was submitted to WPAD by the Garber Park Stewards and approved by WPAD:  (Click on the document to see full size)